Love this club

Reading's Federici relishing Man Utd test

Adam Federici admits he cannot wait to get back to Old Trafford this week.

The Australian goalkeeper and his Reading teammates take on Manchester United in the FA Cup fifth round on Monday night and he is excited about getting back to the ground where he produced a man of the match performance for the Royals back in 2007 in one of his early outings for the Berkshire club.

"To go and play in front of the crowd at Old Trafford in one of my first games was incredible," he told The National.

"I had a good game, so nothing but positive memories and I am looking forward to going back there. I've been a few times since, but never played, so I am looking forward to playing in the stadium again.

"(Robin) van Persie is obviously incredible and so is (Wayne) Rooney, but then they have four or five guys on the bench who can come on and score, as well.

"That's just the beauty of a big club. You can dwell on things like that or you can take it as a challenge and that's what we do at Reading. There is no pressure on us, so we can go out there, enjoy it and test ourselves against the best in the world."

About the author

Andrew Slevison is an avid sports fan, particularly of the world game. The Melbourne, Australia native, who has spent time living in London and travelling South America, takes a keen interest in the English Premier League and Major League Soccer and rates his best live footballing moment as the 2014 World Cup final in Brazil.